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[Freie <gr...@bi...>]

Ica, in the year 1793. Even in her girlhood she looked forward to
assisting in making the Gospel known in distant lands. Long before any
movement sprang up in America for sending out female missionaries to the
heathen, the day dream of this little girl was to devote herself to the
mission cause. Not that she dreamed away her life in longing, and
neglected her every-day duties. She was remarkable for her intelligence
and dutiful conduct; and from the age of ten felt deep religious
convictions, and was constant in her daily prayers and Bible reading.
Her life was brightened by her belief, and she ever kept in view what
she believed to be her mission in life. "What can I do," she writes,
"that the light of the Gospel may shine upon the heathen? They are
perishing for lack of knowledge, while I enjoy the glorious privileges
of a Christian land." The means of accomplishing her desire soon came. A
young missionary, named Newell, who was going out to India, asked her to
become his wife. Her decision was not taken without earnest prayer; and
had her parents opposed her wishes she would have been prepared to give
them up, but, gaining their consent, she accepted Mr. Newell's offer.
She was fully aware that the difficulties in the way would be very
great; for up to that time no female missionary had gone from America to
the mission field. At first her friends tried in every way to dissuade
her from leaving home, and, as they termed it, "throwing herself away on
the heathen". But her simplicity of belief and earnestness of purpose
soon changed their thoughts on the s